Bath sandal



Feb- 20 1940- w. H. GILBERT r 4Al.

BATH SANDAL lFiled Feb. ze, 193s Patented Feb. 20, 1940 BATH SANDAL william Hell Gilbert, Les' Angeles, ena Frenk F.

Hosmer, Glendale, Calif.

Application FebruaryZG, 1938, Serial No. 192,810

1 claim.

has for its principal object the provision of a relatively simple, practical and inexpensive sandal adapted to be worn by persons while bathing in bathtubs and while walking on the wet and slippery floors of bathrooms; and the principal object of our invention is to `provide a sandal of the character referred to, having a sole formed in two pieces, the lower part being composed of cork and the upper part being composed of rubber or rubber composition, thus providing a sandal that will eectually prevent slipping of the wearer upon smooth, slippery surfaces, and consequently eliminating the danger of injury due to slipping while entering and leaving the bathtub, and while walking on the wet, slippery surfaces of bathrooms, including the floors of shower and needlebath compartments,

We have found, in practice, that cork constitutes a highly effective non-skid or'non-slipping surface for bath sandals, and particularly cork granules that are held together by a binder of water-proof cement or the like, and it is the purpose of our invention to form the outer or under sole of the sandal from a sheet of cork, preferably granular or comminuted, and to permanently secure to the upper side of said sheet of cork, a layer of rubber or rubber-composition that is vulcanized to the cork sole so as to provide a firm, yet elastic backing for the entire cork sole, and the edge of the rubber inner-sole being extended over the edge of the outer cork-sole so as to provide a protection for said edge and prevent said edge from disintegration and crumbling away as a result of continued use.

A further object of our invention is to provide a non-slipping bath sandal having its rear portion curved upwardly to cover the lower portion of the heel of the wearer, thus providing nonslipping surfaces that are effective while the wearer of the sandals is sitting or reclining in the bathtub or on the bathroom floor. i

A further object of our invention is to provide the bath sandal with straps that are effective in retaining the sandal upon the foot, and which straps are formed integral with the upper sole of rubber or rubber-composition, so that the sandal in its entirety is practically an integral or onepiece structure.

With the foregoing and other objects in View, our invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts that will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

` (Cl. 36e-11.5)

.Our invention relates to a bath sandal, and y Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a bath sandal constructed in accordance with our` invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

.Fig. `3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken;

on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawing which illustrates a preferred embodiment of our invention, l0 `designates the under or outer sole of the sandal Which is formed of a sheet of cork which may be of any desired thickness, for instance from an eighth to a quarter of an inch. In order that the outer sole may have the desired degree of flexibility and the highest degree of friction when in contact with a smooth `slippery surface, Weprefer to form the sole from granular or comminuted cork, the particlesof which are held in compact relation by a suitable binder, for instance water-proof cement.

Overlying the top of the cork under-sole, is an upper sole il formed of pure gum rubber or rubber composition that is secured to the cork sole by a suitable water-proof cement or by being vulcanized directly to said cork sole. form a perfect bond between the edges of the two soles and to provide a protection to prevent disintegration of the edge of the cork sole, the edge of the rubber sole is extended down to form. a continuous marginal bead i2 that covers the edge of the cork sole, and the lower edge of said bead being tapered inwardly onthe under side of the cork sole immediately adjacent its edge.

The rubber upper sole Il` being vulcanized or otherwise bonded to the upper surface of the cork sole provides a firm, and at the same time elastic backing for the cork sole so as to prevent cracking and deterioration thereof, due to the practically constant flexing while the sandal is worn, and at the same time, the rubber sole provides a soft bearing surface for the sole of the foot of the wearer.

The rear portions of the two soles are curved upwardly as designated by I3 so as to t snugly against the rear portion of the heel of the wearer, and this upwardly projecting portion extends around to the side portions of the heel of the IIJ. Order t0 sandal so as to form a shallow pocket for the reor rubber-composition, are positioned above the central portion of the sandal, with the rear ends of said straps integrally secured to the forward edges of the upturned rear portion I3, and the forward ends of said straps are integrally secured to the upper sole ll of rubber a short distance rearwardly from the toe-portion of the sandal. When the sandal is worn, the crossed straps overn lie the instep portion of the foot.

The under-sole i of cork is highly effective against slipping on smooth surfaces, particularly` the smooth wet surfaces of bathtubs and the e floorsof bathrooms, andi the` flexibility of the entire sandal venables the same to be worn withy comfort and the wearer is assured of the possibility of accidents dueto slipping on smooth, wet surfaces being lessened.

By vulcanizing the rubber` upper-sole Il to the cork under-sole and vulcanizing the ends of the `straps i4 to the vrubber,y upper-sole, the sandal in effect is a one-piece structure that is capable of being easily4 and quickly applied to or removed from thewearers foot, and the curvingr of the rear portions of both upper and lower soles of the sandal provides a protection for the lower, rear and side portions of the` heel of the wearer, and at the same time enables the sandal to be properly retained on the foot even while the wearer is in a sitting or recumbent position.

In repeated. tests and` experiments we khave found that av sheet of cork, and particularly a sheet composed of. granular cork in which the granules are heldv together by water-proof cement, to be the most effective material in resistance to slipping on wet slippery surfaces.

We attribute such desirable qualities to the fact that a sheet of cork, and particularly a sheet composed of cork granules, has many minute pores or interstices that open on the under side of the sole, and which, when applied to a smooth slippery surface with pressure, function as vacuum suction cups and thereby cause the sole to adhere to the slippery surface to such a degree as to prevent slipping of "the wearers feet.

Further, our improved bath sandal is particularly effective when worn in and around public bathsin protecting the wearer against the contagious foot ailment generally termed athletes foot.`

It will be understood that minor changes in the size,` form and construction of the various parts of our improved bath sandal may be made and substituted for those herein shown and describedwithout departing'from the spirit of our invention, the .scope of' which is set forth in the appended claim.

We; claimr as our, invention:

As a newv article vof manufacture, a bath sandal comprisingy an under solev formed of granular cork, atop sole of rubber overlying andsecuredv to the entire upper surface of the granular cork bottom sole, the edges of. which topsole overlie the edgesof` the granular cork sole and overlie the under faceof saidlgranular cork sole adjacentiits edges and; the rear portions of which top and bottom soles are extended. upwardly so as to over'- lie the side and'rear. portions of the heel of the wearer.

WILLJAM` HALL GILBERT. FRANK F. HOSMER. 

